SLC bike shops

[bigsugar]

Anyone have a recommendation for a good bike shop in SLC? I'm new in town, and I need some stuff done on my mountain bike. I live near Liberty Park.

Thanks.

[shmoesmith]

Go-Ride is my favorite. They have always been good to me and worked with me on costs. Sometimes its a bit of a wait with them though (like 1-2 weeks). Their address is:

3232 S 400 E
STE 300
Salt Lake City, UT 84115

[Dickeymotto]

Not Wild Rose. Probably the most useless bike shop I have ever been to, and that's saying something. Every time I've been there, its been for something small and specific (ferules, rim strips, shock pump) and every time without fail they never have what I'm looking for unless its the most expensive option possible, to which I say no thank you and get nothing but stuck up, snotty attitude. No respect at all there.

Go-Ride FTW. I'll go to them for items I can't get at any of the more immediately local shops (in SLC proper). Of those though, so far Cyclesmith has been the most helpful to me. Since I'm a mechanic myself, I usually just order stuff online and save money. But for small parts (cables, housing, misc), they have been the best so far out of Wild Rose, Wasatch Touring, and Bingham's. Contender (pretty close to you on 9th and 9th) was good, but are XC racing and road oriented and don't stock very much for the AM or gravity rider.

I hear good things about Guthrie, but haven't been there myself. Never been to SLC Bicycle Company, but since they are a Trek concept store, I'm not holding my breath.

The best shop (other than Go-Ride) IMO is Skyline Cycle in Ogden. Skyline IME never had the most high end mechanics (though I haven't had someone wrench on one of my bikes in years, so they might be better now), but were always the most friendly by far and always had what I needed in stock. Most of the time, if it was a small part, they would just give it to me for free and tell me not to worry about it. Fucking rad guys up there. If I could have one shop close to my house, they would be my number one pick.

[rideit]

Interesting and timely thread.
I just spent last week going to any and all shops in SLC that I could, looking for both appropriate shops to possibly sell my BicyclArt, as well as source parts in exchange for beer/ pieces etc.
What I found is that in general, SLC has the most soulless, corporate, flavorless shops of ANY city, anywhere. Robotronic employees, no sense of 'culture' or whatnot. The one exceptions that I found were bicycle cooperative, and a little shop up near the U next to the Einsteins bagels.
I still need to get ahold of Go-ride, I just didn't make it out there.
All this being said, the same kinda ran true for finding groovy boutiques and home furnishing stores that would 'get' what I do. Found a few, but took DAYS. it seems like if you can't also order whatever you see on the floor in a catalog, the stores in SLC just don't want it.
Cripey, is there anything as soulless as City Creek Center, or what Trolley Square has become? Or even Sugarhouse as a whole?
Let's not even get into the West Valley or Jordan. I swear there are zombies working all of the retail outlets...

[Touring_Sedan]

Interesting and timely thread.
I just spent last week going to any and all shops in SLC that I could, looking for both appropriate shops to possibly sell my BicyclArt, as well as source parts in exchange for beer/ pieces etc.
What I found is that in general, SLC has the most soulless, corporate, flavorless shops of ANY city, anywhere. Robotronic employees, no sense of 'culture' or whatnot. The one exceptions that I found were bicycle cooperative, and a little shop up near the U next to the Einsteins bagels.
I still need to get ahold of Go-ride, I just didn't make it out there.
All this being said, the same kinda ran true for finding groovy boutiques and home furnishing stores that would 'get' what I do. Found a few, but took DAYS. it seems like if you can't also order whatever you see on the floor in a catalog, the stores in SLC just don't want it.
Cripey, is there anything as soulless as City Creek Center, or what Trolley Square has become? Or even Sugarhouse as a whole?
Let's not even get into the West Valley or Jordan. I swear there are zombies working all of the retail outlets...

I just thought it was me, glad to hear this echoed by those from out of town. I found ONE employee in ONE shop who even seemed slightly interested in my business and I ended up buying a bike from him. When I went back to the shop to source some upgrades, the rest of the employees were useless. I don't even bother with SLC shops anymore. Jenson and Pricepoint for parts, my garage for wrenching. I actually drove 500 miles round trip last week to pick up a new full squish from a shop that actually appreciated my business. When these LBS' in Salt Lake start going under, they'll have no one to blame but themselves.

[m1e448]

Go-Ride FTW. I'll go to them for items I can't get at any of the more immediately local shops (in SLC proper). Of those though, so far Cyclesmith has been the most helpful to me. Since I'm a mechanic myself, I usually just order stuff online and save money. But for small parts (cables, housing, misc), they have been the best so far out of Wild Rose, Wasatch Touring, and Bingham's. Contender (pretty close to you on 9th and 9th) was good, but are XC racing and road oriented and don't stock very much for the AM or gravity rider.

How are bike shops expected to stay open selling cables, housing, ferrules and rimstrips? I know it is a free market and online shopping is the way of the future, but local convenience still comes at a price whether that someone that supports shops is you or someone else.

[rideit]

They're not. But each customer contact on little things is really an invitation by the customer (and more importantly, the shop employee) to develop a relationship with the shop, in order to feel out how bigger purchases might go. At least that's my take as an ex shop owner.

[m1e448]

Their not. But each customer contact on little things is really an invitation by the customer to develop a relationship with the shop, in order to feel out how bigger purchases might go. At least that's my take as an ex shop owner.

Well Said! Hope more people that own, manage, and work at bicycle shops and other places with similar customers will read this.

[zion zig zag]

I went to Skyline in Ogden the other day to get some new shoes and they were out of my size. I have always had great experiences there, have bought a couple of bikes from them and have all my work done with them. They know me by name, always have what I need and treat me well. I decided a long time ago to give them all of my business. But, they were out of my size so I decided to go to Binghams.

Binghams had one other customer and a grundle of employees standing around dressed like hipsters. No one greeted me and after standing with a shoe in my hand for 5 minutes there had still been no one to help me. I took a lap around the store to get noticed and all of the employees scrambled. I really needed shoes so I stood with the shoe for another 5 minutes or so to no avail. Finally, fed up, I walked. I drove to The Bike Shoppe and had almost a carbon copy experience. With two out of three LBS's giving this type of service it's no wonder that they are struggling.

[beaterdit]

I've had good and bad experiences at Wild Rose. I generally think most of those guys are OK but they are REALLY expensive.

The kids at Bingham's downtown hooked me up with a warranty on some brakes I proformed. Don't think the overall quality of the wrenching is very high though.

Actually heard good things about Sports Den but you wouldn't know it to walk in there.

Go-Ride has been the most consistent by far and tend to carry the things I need ie: trail/all-mtn/DH. Very knowledgeable on things like chainguides and suspension, etc. Also, I was recently pricing some new cranks and they came in below the online retailers in price. Sure this isn't true with everything but I bet it's frequently the case for this years stuff which is most of what's in the shops and websites right now. Manufacturers have been cracking down on the discount sites for selling well below suggested retail while giving shops a little more leeway. Notice Pricepoint and Jenson don't have nearly the inventory they used these days.

All that said, on big ticket parts I'll give a local a chance but if I can find last years' stuff on closeout online I'll go for it.

[Dickeymotto]

What I found is that in general, SLC has the most soulless, corporate, flavorless shops of ANY city, anywhere. Robotronic employees, no sense of 'culture' or whatnot. The one exceptions that I found were bicycle cooperative, and a little shop up near the U next to the Einsteins bagels.

That's Cyclesmith, the only one I've even remotely liked so far.

I went to Skyline in Ogden the other day to get some new shoes and they were out of my size. I have always had great experiences there, have bought a couple of bikes from them and have all my work done with them. They know me by name, always have what I need and treat me well. I decided a long time ago to give them all of my business. But, they were out of my size so I decided to go to Binghams.

Binghams had one other customer and a grundle of employees standing around dressed like hipsters. No one greeted me and after standing with a shoe in my hand for 5 minutes there had still been no one to help me. I took a lap around the store to get noticed and all of the employees scrambled. I really needed shoes so I stood with the shoe for another 5 minutes or so to no avail. Finally, fed up, I walked. I drove to The Bike Shoppe and had almost a carbon copy experience. With two out of three LBS's giving this type of service it's no wonder that they are struggling.

First time I ever went to Skyline, all I needed was a cheap rear QR skewer (because the one I had wouldn't fit in my trainer) and I was prepared to pay for whatever they had, card in hand. The owner was working the floor that day, greeted me and we chatted about trail conditions for a few minutes. When I asked about the skewer, he ran to the back, grabbed one they had as a pull off and gave it to me for free. They've known me by name ever since. Every time I've been there was a similar experience. They are one of the things I really miss about Ogden since moving to SLC.

The Bike Shoppe is probably second place for the most useless shop I've ever been to. Bingham's is third (which is sad because I used to work there). If you talk to Bryce (the mechanic) at the Ogden Bingham's, he is a super rad dude that has more soul then the rest of the crappy bike shops combined, though everything he suggests has a bias towards weight weenie XC stuff, so a grain of salt is needed. Everyone else there is clueless and useless.

Biker's Edge in Kaysville has also been top notch every time I've been there. We bought my fiance's first bike there and have had good dealings with them for the few times we've been.

[bigsugar]

Thanks guys. I ended up at Go-ride, which worked out well. I'd definitely go back.

[StopMakingSense]

I'll just throw Go-Ride in again... knowledgeable down to earth guys who ride all the time

[F#*k you cat]

Ride it

Go to cottonwood cyclery next time you are in town ( Bengal Blvd in cottonwood heights ). Alan will be stoked to display your bike art

CAT

[Pablo Escobar]

I have been getting some good service from salt cycles, off 94th south and highland. they hooked me a sweet deal on a cx bike, and have made me some deals on small parts as well.

they are a family run shop, closed sundays (they are not lds)....

[Touring_Sedan]

I was eavesdropping on a guy at the Glenwild trailhead the other day. He was talking about the carbon HT he was riding. I guess Salt Cycles is custom building these carbon frames up. It looked pretty decent and I was wondering if it was one of those Chinese frames and how it rode.

I have been getting some good service from salt cycles, off 94th south and highland. they hooked me a sweet deal on a cx bike, and have made me some deals on small parts as well.

they are a family run shop, closed sundays (they are not lds)....

[bagtagley]

Or even Sugarhouse as a whole?

Right? I mean, look at Sandy and Draper and CH and Herriman. The culture!!

[Pablo Escobar]

I was eavesdropping on a guy at the Glenwild trailhead the other day. He was talking about the carbon HT he was riding. I guess Salt Cycles is custom building these carbon frames up. It looked pretty decent and I was wondering if it was one of those Chinese frames and how it rode.

the owner guys name in Chris. do noty be put off by his hipster headwear choices, he's a solid guy.

their shop rats are a mix, but all are quick an efficient. they had some sabbath playing on their stereo when i was in there last saturday afternoon.